The best slow cooker BBQ chicken is one of the easiest meals to make on busy weeknights. With only seven simple ingredients, you can have the meal ready to cook for dinner tonight in less than five minutes.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

Barbecue shredded chicken in a bun on a plate with some potato chips.

Crock Pot BBQ chicken is a favorite at our house. The recipe is one of the easiest slow cooker meals to make and turns out delicious every time.

It takes about five minutes to get the recipe in the slow cooker. You can let it cook all day while you’re doing something else and come home to a home-cooked meal.

Plus, it’s perfect for a busy day or game days. You can cook it ahead of time and keep it on warm in the slow cooker at your next party.

Add some flavorful chimichurri rice from Two Cloves Kitchen to the side.

BBQ shredded chicken on a bun with some coleslaw on top. There are three buns off to the side of the plate. There's also some chips on the plate.

Watch How To Make The Best Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

Step-by-Step Instructions

Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker sprayed with nonstick spray. You do not need to add any chicken broth, as the chicken will release moisture as it cooks.

Pouring apple cider vinegar on top of chicken in a slow cooker.

Pour the apple cider vinegar into the pot with the chicken. Apple cider vinegar helps tenderize the chicken and add flavor to the dish.

Chicken breasts in the slow cooker with brown sugar sprinkled on top.

Sprinkle the brown sugar on top.

Pouring Worcestershire sauce on top of chicken.

Pour the Worcestershire sauce on top of the chicken.

Chicken breasts covered in bbq sauce in a slow cooker.

Finally, add the barbecue sauce on top of the chicken. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low heat for eight hours.

For this recipe, I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar barbecue sauce. They also have a delicious maple syrup barbecue sauce. But you can use your favorite for this recipe.

After eight hours, shred the chicken and serve. I used two forks to shred it, but you can also use an electric hand mixer. Just be careful, as it gets messy.

Slow cooker shredded chicken on a bun with coleslaw. There are some potato chips on the side.

What To Serve The Shredded BBQ Chicken On

Hamburger buns
Hoagie rolls
Coleslaw
Toasted garlic bread

BBQ chicken on a bun with coleslaw. Potato chips are on the white plate next to the chicken.

Can You Overcook Chicken In A Slow Cooker?

Yes, it’s possible to overcook chicken in the slow cooker. If you cook the chicken for too long, it will dry out. I don’t usually cook the chicken for longer than eight hours on low. If you put the temperature on high heat, four to five hours should be plenty of cook time.

Do I Need To Brown Chicken For The Slow Cooker?

No, you can add raw or frozen chicken breasts to the slow cooker.

How To Store The Chicken

Store the cooked chicken in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator.

slow cooker shredded bbq chicken on a bun. There's some chips on the side of the plate.

What Goes Well With BBQ Chicken?

These are some great side dishes that go well with a lot of recipes, including barbecue.

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Full of tender dumplings and savory broth, these Southern chicken and dumplings are a must-make for cozy fall nights.
With tender pasta and flavorful chicken, this slow cooker chicken and pasta is a hearty, hands-off meal perfect for busy days.
Loaded with bacon, ranch, and melty cheese, this crack chicken casserole is the ultimate comfort food everyone will be asking for.
Juicy and perfectly seasoned, these air fryer chicken breast recipes deliver a crispy outside and tender center without the oil.
Baked until golden with the savory flavors of ranch seasoning, this baked chicken and ranch dinner is a crowd-pleasing favorite.

The Best Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

4.80 from 5 votes

Julie Pollitt

The best slow cooker bbq chicken is easy to make and turns out tender and flavorful every time. This is a great slow cooker recipe.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 5

Course Crock Pot / Slow Cooker

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 174 kcal

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar.
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt and black pepper

Instructions

Spray the sides and bottom of a slow cooker with nonstick spray.
Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer.
Pour the apple cider vinegar over the top.
Next, add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
Finally, pour the barbecue sauce over the top.
Place the lid on top of the slow cooker and cook on low heat for eight hours.
After eight hours, shred chicken with a fork and serve.

Video

Notes

The cooking time is eight hours, but you can cut it in half and cook it on high for four to five hours. The chicken will be done when it's tender and falls apart easily.

The recipe calls for one cup of bbq sauce, but you can add a little more if you'd like to.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

If you love barbecue you can add some additional barbecue sauce over the top of your sandwich after it cooks.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 19gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 446mgSugar: 15g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

4.80 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

5 Comments

Taylor biggs says:

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Can you use pork for this?

1. Julie Pollitt says:
  
  at
  
  You can. Pork would be delicious!
  
Jennifer says:

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For the hickory bbq shredded chicken recipe, I have a question. Would it work to also add some garlic and onions to the crockpot as it’s cooking?
Thanks.
I’d also thought about adding a little bit of Ray’s teriyaki sauce to the chicken as well. Do you think that would be to much, or make it to sweet?
I thank you in advance for your opinion ☺️
Jennifer

1. Julie Pollitt says:
  
  at
  
  Hi Jennifer!
  
  You can definitely add garlic and onion to the Crock Pot as it cooks. I would wait until it is done cooking to add any more sauce. I would try it first before I added more sauce to see how it tastes. It might end up making it too sweet. But if not, then you can add it when it’s done cooking. Hope that helps, and you enjoy it!
  
K. Duke says:

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Took 5 minutes to throw this together at beginning of day with items already had in pantry/freezer. By 5 pm dinner was ready! Husband is not a big fan of barbecue chicken but loved this as well as my daughter. Topped with sweet pickles and barbecue sauce on toasted buns, served with fries. Perfect!